There’s a problem with bringing in brand new wrestlers without any build up.  While formerly known as mere members of TNA security, Gunner and Murphy were eventually allowed to wrestle.  Both men had been on the indy scene for years, but you would never know it from watching them.  Sure they were on TV every week, and yes Gunner had a run with the Television title, but why?  Gunner was an easy man to ignore until he pinned Sting on the last episode of Impact Wrestling.  Now that he has been thrust into the spotlight, who is Gunner and why should I care?

First of all, accept that Gunner is a terrible name and hope for a rebranding at some point.  Gunner wrestled on the independent scene as Phill Shatter which is a fantastic name.  Especially when you see him shatter legs.  Which brings us to…

Two, the man held his own, and defeated Davey Richards.  Shatter and Richards met in the finals of the NWA Future Legends Cup 2010.  Phil took Davey to the limit, and eventually pinned him following a power bomb.  He also sold like he’s been studying Shawn Michaels tapes for years.  I’ve seen the punishment a man takes while wrestling the American Wolf, and you don’t have to fake pain.  However, Shatter takes it further than that.  He’s in pain, and a lesser man would have given up ages ago, but he perseveres.

Three, the man is a weapon.  Call him Shatter or Gunner, but either way the message is the same.  Something is going to break when you step in the ring against him.  Sure, he channels Edge when he hits a Spear.  But that is still one devastating as fuck tackle that can knock out half the wrestlers he faces.  His finisher, the fireman’s carry facebuster, is the Saw movie of wrestling.  It shows you new definitions of pain.  What wouldn’t hurt while taking this move?  First you get spun in the air, so there goes your equilibrium.  Second, you land on your face!  Your teeth, nose and forehead have all been driven down into the mat from a height of over six feet.  But there’s more to come.  Third is your neck and forth is the rest of your body.  Everything comes snapping down like a whip and you are powerless to stop it because the pain from your face touching canvas is only just now reaching your nervous system.

Four, no really the man is a weapon.  His nickname may be the Universal Soldier, but that title tells us more about Gunner than his love of Jean-Claude Van Damme movies.  Gunner was in the United States Marine Corps and left with the rank of Sergeant.  He fought in Iraq and for these reasons alone I respect the shit out of him.  If you can get through USMC Boot Camp, you can get through anything.

Five, he’s one of us.  Shatter is paying his dues in wrestling.  He worked his way through NWA Anarchy, which is one of the few promotions that make that NWA name matter.  He’s been on the road, he’s bled, and he is humble.  In any interview Shatter has, he is humble.  While he is on national TV now, he doesn’t forget where he came from nor who helped him get there.  He studies wrestling constantly to improve his work.  His spinebuster and slingshot moves are influenced by studying old tapes of Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard.  Gunner has said that he wants his finishing moves to look powerful and painful.  If no one believes the move was devastating, than why bother using it?

I’ll agree with any negative assessment of TNA for many reasons.  After researching Phill Shatter’s career, I suggest adding the way Gunner has been booked to those reasons.  The man is now on my list of wrestlers to watch.  Thanks to YouTube and podcast interviews my entire opinion of Shatter has been changed.  I’ve gone from being pissed off he was even in the same ring as Sting to wanting to see Gunner get built up into a new main event star.